German inflation confirmed at 2.8% in May By Reuters

By Maria Martinez

BERLIN (Reuters) -German inflation rose in May due to higher services prices, the federal statistics office said on Wednesday, confirming preliminary data.

German consumer prices, harmonised to compare with other European Union countries, rose 2.8% on the year in May. They had risen by 2.4% year-on-year in April.

“The inflation rate is slightly up again, mainly due to the continued increase in service prices,” said Ruth Brand, president of the statistics office.

Prices of services were 3.9% higher in May than in the same month a year earlier, following an increase of 3.4% in April.

“By contrast, energy and food prices have had a dampening effect on overall inflation since the beginning of the year,” Brand said.

Energy product prices fell by 1.1% compared with May 2023 and food prices were up 0.6%, with the inflation rate for food significantly below the overall inflation rate.